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November 20, 2013

Justice Dept. Finalizes $13 Billion Settlement with JPMorgan 
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The Justice Department has finalized a $13 billion settlement with the
banking giant JPMorgan Chase over the sale of toxic mortgage-backed
securities at the heart of the financial crisis. The settlement includes
$4 billion in relief for struggling homeowners. It is the largest-ever
penalty any single company has ever paid to the federal government. New
York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman unveiled the settlement on
Tuesday.

Eric Schneiderman: "Not only will Chase have to pay the largest
settlement ever levied against a financial institution, but it has
admitted in our statement of facts that its own employees, employees of
Bear Stearns and employees of Washington Mutual made material
misrepresentations to the investing public about a large number of
residential mortgage-backed securities that they issued prior to the
crash back in 2008. This settlement is a major victory in the fight to
hold accountable those that were responsible for that crash."

The settlement closes a number of federal and state probes into
JPMorgan's sale of toxic mortgage securities. The bank could still face
prosecution on criminal charges of fraud. It is also the target of at
least nine other government investigations.

 

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